


Marked

by orphan_account



Series: Life in the Sun [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Body Image, F/M, Fluff, Romance, post baby body, surgery scars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-25 13:05:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16661617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Rose wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror and grimaced at her distorted reflection.





	Marked

**Author's Note:**

> Set roughly a week after Rose's surgery

Rose wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror and grimaced at her distorted reflection. It had been two days since she had been released from the hospital and she was holding onto her sanity by a quickly splitting thread. Because of the c-section, she hadn’t been able to get into bed without help, stand out of a chair while holding her son, or even shave her damn legs. Plus, the lower half of her body was still terrifyingly swollen from the extra fluids pumped into her during the surgery. She felt like a walking, talking sausage. 

  
Her vision blurred as she toweled off her wet hair, sniffling harshly and wishing she could hack off the bits of flabby skin hanging from her body.   
  


John poked his head into the en suite. “Dinner’s here and James is asleep.” He frowned at her red and splotchy face. “Are you alright, love?”   
  


“No!” Rose heaved a sob and covered her face with her hands. “I’m disgustin’!”   
  


“You are not,” John insisted, replacing her hands with his. “You’re lovely.”   
  


“M’all bloated and hairy and… and…” she blubbered and angrily wiped the tears leaking down her chin. “And you’ll never want to touch me again!”   
  


“C’mere.” He coaxed her closer and Rose sagged in his arms, crying hard into his shoulder. “I love you. All this that you hate? It’s temporary. You won’t be bloated forever. You  _ just _ had surgery, love.”    
  


“I have stretch marks.”   
  


“So?”   
  


“S’ugly,” she mumbled.   
  


“I beg to differ. Any new mark is a badge of honor, valiantly won as you waddled around for nine months to grow a human. Tough stuff, that is.” He loosened his arms, angling his head to look her in the eye. “And I will  _ always _ want you. You could grow five sizes bigger or five sizes smaller — makes no difference to me. You’re still the most gorgeous woman on this planet.”    
  


Rose managed a small, watery smile. “What if I was two inches tall?”   
  


He shrugged, unfazed. “I’d be paranoid of steppin’ on you, but you could ride around on my shoulder as me own personal beauty fairy.”   
  


She giggled at the mental image. “You’re so daft.”   
  


“Daft for you.” Happy to hear her laugh, he leaned down to kiss her wet lips. “I got chips.”   
  


“And vinegar?”   
  


“Of course.”   
  


John plucked a flannel off the bathroom counter and gently dried the tears from her face. When he was done, he got on his knees to check her incision since she couldn't bend over and care for it herself. After affirming everything was healing well, he stood to unhook her dressing gown from the back of the door, helping her arms in the sleeves and tying it carefully around her tender belly. Lastly, he found her comb and slowly worked the wet knots out of her freshly showered hair.   
  


Rose’s eyes watered again as she watched her husband take care of her, treating her like a precious jewel. When he was finally done, she wound her arms around him and snuggled against his chest.    
  


“I love you.” She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve, unable to stop a fresh round of tears.   
  


“I love you, too.” John placed a kiss on her crown. “Ready to eat?”   
  


“In a minute.”   
  


Happy to wait as long as Rose wanted, he tightened his hold on her. She sighed and closed her eyes, safe and cherished in his warm embrace. The marks on her skin would fade with time, but she knew John’s love for her would be forever etched onto her body and soul.   



End file.
